What's on in Germany: March 29 – April 4

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This Week's Highlights: Dinner on a Baltic beach, a spring festival in Berlin, and French singer SoKo steps up to the mic in Cologne.

BERLIN

Festivals

Berlin Spring Festival

Spring is in the air! And so are swirling swings, Ferris wheels, and other exciting airborne rides. Berlin's Spring Festival starts Friday at the Central Festival Square near Tegel Airport. If you don't go for the rides, go for the bratwurst and beer. Kids will enjoy Wednesdays when rides are half price, and fireworks fans should head over this Saturday night.

The curtain rises on 11 days of exceptional opera in Berlin this week. Wagner's “Das Rheingold” sets the festival off on a grand start Friday night, followed by a new production of Alban Berg's “Lulu,” which premieres Saturday. Mark your appointment books for an evening of intense theatrical drama.

Barbara and Axel Haubrok have amassed quite a trove of contemporary art over the last 20 some years. You can check out their collection on Saturdays when they open their gallery to the public. But if you're around Thursday, stop in for the opening reception for the new exhibition “my.LA,” featuring, you guessed it, works by Los Angeles artists. Don't miss the piece by the important American artist Eleanor Antin.

Teenagers. What an odd bunch. Polish filmmaker Katarzyna Roslaniec got to know a subculture of girls who hang out in malls around Warsaw and made a movie about their surprisingly corrupt lives. See Mall Girls with English subtitles Friday.

The French gamine has been running up the rungs of the success ladder for a decade now. Finally, SoKo released her debut album last month and I Thought I Was an Alien is as lovable as she is in its own honest/depressed kind of way. See the singer sing lines like “'cause soon enough we'll die” and “I'll kill her” in her cute French accent Tuesday in Cologne.

Succumb to the beat of the castanets. It's Flamenco time in Düsseldorf. Some of Spain's most passionate dancers perform to live music this week at Tanzhaus NRW. There's also plenty of workshops for you aspiring musicians and dancers, and an exhibition featuring works by photographer Boris de Bonn.

Art is often made behind closed doors. That's cool, we understand that artists need their personal space. But this weekend, Christoph Ziegler, Gabriela LaPacheca, Martin Wojciechowski, and Tintin Patrone are going public. The four artists will be making art in an exciting space called “Karoline,” among a cultural program that includes live music, DJs, poetry slams, a music-mixing workshop, and an art walk. Go for the creative vibe during the day and stay for the after dark dance party.

During World War II Marc Chagall fled to the United States. Once peace was restored to the European continent, the artist set up a studio in the south of France. Smart guy. On Sunday, Chagall's postwar works go on view in the Lake Constance town Lindau. See selected gouaches and watercolours by the great Russian painter then go sip an apero by the lake in honour of his 125th birthday.

That talented bunch of shadow dancers “Pilobulus” is coming to Munich. Get your tickets, take your seats, and be enchanted by the transformation of human figures into the most sensational shapes while you follow the tale of an imaginative young girl's coming of age.

The Guardian said National Theatre Live's production of She Stoops to Conquer “leaves the theatre echoing with the sound of the audience's happiness.” Want to get happy? Head to Cinema Filmtheater Thursday when the Jamie Lloyd's update of the 18th century Oliver Goldsmith play broadcasts live on the big screen.

Feel that warm spring sun? Makes you want to head to the beach doesn't it? Here's an idea. Hightail it to Timmendorfer Strand this weekend for some seafront dining. Local chefs will be doing their thing under a big tent at the memorable and delicious open-air affair. The Baltic beach town is just a quick drive from Hamburg. Go Saturday to hear hits from the 1960s while you chow down.